Cannabis News

The HEMP Embassy Headlines are a selection of recent articles from news services and media sources primarily concerning Cannabis issues, the consequences of prohibition and the challenges for law reform. Here are the selected headlines for this week.

Embassy HEADLINES Issue 308

June 14, 2018

AUSTRALIA & NZ

Zelda Therapeutics Ltd continues to progress its paediatric (children) brain cancer research project with the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, Western Australia. The research project is focused on the pre-clinical testing of Zelda’s compounds, formulations and protocols on pediatric medulloblastoma cell lines. Medulloblastoma is a common brain tumour in children and accounts for about 15% of brain cancers in children.

Compass Cannabis Clinics is pleased to announce that it has entered into a letter of intent with Dr. Teresa Towpik which will signal the launch of its operations in Australia under a joint venture entity to be known as Compass Australia. Dr. Towpik has been a general practitioner in Australia since 1993, where Dr. Towpik has become a leading advocate for patient access to medicinal cannabis since it became legalized in Australia in 2016. The joint venture operation will also be supported with the addition of Dr. Towpik as Chief Medical Officer and a director of Compass Australia, and MediHuanna’s Managing Director Paul Bulkiewicz as a director of Compass Australia. Mr. Bulkiewicz brings a wealth of knowledge in cannabis education and is actively engaged in the creation of physician-focused and accredited curriculum highlighting the role of cannabis in healthcare.

NSW Council for Civil Liberties (CCL) has condemned the six-month bans handed out to patrons of the Above and Beyond music festival, on the basis of identification by drug sniffer dogs. NSW Police announced before the event that they would exclude patrons, regardless of whether any drugs were found after indications by the drug dogs.

NORTH AMERICA

Last week, Colorado governor John Hickenlooper signed a law that will now allow school nurses to administer medical marijuana to students, the Denver Postreports. But that doesn’t mean that kindergarteners are going to start ripping bowls in the nurse’s office, though. The law only applies to cannabis oil and other “non-smokeable” marijuana like CBD oil, and requires that students have a medical marijuana card and written permission from their parents and school principal.

New Jersey is quickly looking more like it will be the second state to legalize cannabis through legislature. Since Phil Murphy was elected Governor of New Jersey, he has been asking the legislature to bring him a bill to legalize cannabis – and a couple of senators have taken the initiative to finally deliver exactly that.

About 2 months ago we covered the news that former U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) was jumping into the cannabis community after being quite vocal about his opposition to cannabis during his time in office. These days he is still being vocal, but at least now he is putting what influence he has left to good use.

In April, a group of activists turned in enough signatures to have their ballot initiative, directed at legalizing cannabis for adult use, placed on the November ballot for Michiganders to decide on. The bill would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to 2.5 ounces outside the home, and up to 10 ounces, or however much was cultivated from a maximum 12 plants per household. It would also give the state the right to regulate a commercial retail industry from seed-to-sale.

A small territory could be the next jurisdiction in the United States to legalize adult use marijuana. Lawmakers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) have approved a bill that would end cannabis prohibition and legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 years of age and older.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate adopted legislation that recognizes “the growing economic potential of industrial hemp” stating how the plant has “historical relevance.” The measure immediately passed, and faced no objection from any representative of either party. It also designates June 4th – 10th as Hemp History Week.

Last week, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill into law establishing that hemp will be treated like any other food ingredient. Enactment of this law paves the way for further expansion of the state’s hemp market and will help further nullify federal prohibition in effect.

President Trump appeared to break with his own administration’s policy on Friday, saying that he was likely to support a legislative proposal to leave the decision to states about whether to legalize marijuana.

Adding to the growing body of evidence indicating that social attitudes related to marijuana are shifting significantly toward acceptance, a new survey from BDS Analytics reveals that more than 80 percent of adults in both the United States and Canada support some form of cannabis legalization.

Canada’s Senate passed Bill C-45, more commonly known as the Cannabis Act. Amendments made to the Cannabis Act concern home growing, maximum THC percentages and criminal penalties. Canada is still on track to becoming the second country on the planet to legalize recreational cannabis nationwide.

On Wednesday, Canadian Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said that while the government accepts most of the Senate’s recommendations on Bill C-45, the government will not accept one that gives provinces the right to ban home cultivation.

Signs claiming that parts of Brighton have been declared “designated cannabis zones” have been put up around the city – but sadly for dope smokers, the council has confirmed they are fake. The signs, which are printed with Brighton and Hove City Council’s logo and corporate colours, as well as a reference number, but after being alerted to the signs, the city council today said they were definitely not the real deal.

MPs have criticised the UK’s cannabis laws and called for urgent reform after a boy had his first epileptic seizure in 300 days because the government had ordered his doctor to stop prescribing him potentially life-saving cannabis oil.

Paris’s first two ‘coffee shops’ selling legal cannabis have attracted long queues of customers eager to try a low-strength version of the drug now permitted under French law. The shops opened last week following a softening of restrictions to allow the sale of cannabis containing less than 0.2 per cent of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the main psychoactive ingredient. The shops’ owners insist that their hemp products will not induce the ‘high’ craved by drug users and are purely for those who like the taste and aroma. Although the cannabis has very little THC, it does contain a relaxant.

Much of the industry on cannabis over the course of the past few years has been focused on the growth occurring in North America. While this has been the hearth of growth over that time period, Africa has been showing a potential interest in becoming apart of this growing industry.

Marijuana went on sale in Uruguay last year under a 2013 law that made it the first nation to legalize a pot market covering the entire chain from plants to purchase. But the country is still working out how to meet demand in its effort to undercut drug traffickers who control the black market.

Conventionally, cachexia is being treated by intravenous feeding, hyper-caloric diet and appetizers including testosterone, growth hormones etc. The appetite-inducing effect of cannabis is well-known; the cannabinoids bind with its receptors responsible for food intake homeostasis and induce food intake. Among the naturally-occurring cannabinoids, THC acts centrally and modulates the neural networks associated with the food intake process and significantly induces appetite in cancer-related cachexia patients. The appetite inducing and body weight stabilizing effects of cannabinoids were also reported in AIDS-cachexia patients.

Marijuana use may also play a role. “A joint a day for a year increases the risk of lung cancer by 8 percent. That’s for each year you smoke a joint a day. It’s really important to get that message out,” said McKenna. Exposure to secondhand smoke, radon gas, and other toxic substances also raises the risk of lung cancer.

Canadian entrepreneurs are busy developing a wide range of new ways to use recreational cannabis in a socially acceptable way — without having to roll or smoke a joint. Cocktails, beer, coffee and tea — along with specially designed vape devices — are in the works. None will create the notorious stench or clouds of smoke associated with marijuana and they will offer non-smokers more choices, beyond the edible cannabis products already on the market.

CULTURE & SOCIETY

Some 65% of poll respondents said they found marijuana use morally acceptable, which is a higher rating than things like the death penalty, abortion and pornography got. In fact, the 65% for marijuana is similar to the numbers support for legalization often gets, suggesting that many link moral acceptability and whether or not something should be legal.

FUNDRAISERS/CAMPAIGNS

Tony of Mullaway’s Medical Cannabis has once again been arrested for growing his cannabis medicine! Tony makes cannabis tincture for children with epilepsy and countless others with cancer, chronic pain, ms and the list goes on. Tony Bower has dedicated his life to helping others and now needs your help. All Donations would be greatly appreciated.

Andrew is behind bars again and may be there until the trial starts in November unless a Supreme Court appeal passes. Funds to date have gone to a legal team plus barrister. More recently a lawyer has been engaged to appear in court RE the current matter. 3 lawyers will now have visited Andrew in jail since the beginning of his first in Parklea and now in the Hunter Valley.

Let’s get real about cannabis.The “war on drugs” has been lost. These days, millions of Australians choose to use cannabis and countries all around the world are changing their laws after realising prohibition does more harm than good. It’s high time we joined them and legalised it. That’s why I’m proud to announce today that the Greens are launching our national plan to legalise cannabis for adult use.

EVENTS

The biggest cannabis and hemp event in The Netherlands! The 10th Cannabis Liberation Day will take place on June 17th 2018, 2pm till 10pm. The event is free as always. On Cannabis Liberation Day we celebrate the international cannabis culture and show how much good this plant has to offer. Cannabis Liberation Day calls for tolerance and widespread use of hemp as durable resource and challenges the criminalization of the plant, the cannabis consumers, coffeeshops and cultivators.

Entry by donation, beside the river at Nimbin’s Bush Theatre. Starting at 11 am and aiming to finish by 420! Learn how to make and use Cannabis as medicine! Speakers confirmed from the Nimbin Hemp Embassy, and The Hemp Club including Malcolm Lee, Rayman, Andrew Kav, Michael, Frances, Caroline, Radic Al, Zane, Gerald, Dr Deb; as well as Deb Lynch from the Medical Cannabis Users Association [MCUA], Steve Bolt on legals, and more for sure.

IF YOU WANT IT: When Phil Bromley moved from Sydney to one of Australia’s most famous and surprisingly largest tourism destinations, Nimbin he felt like he’d found home. Six years on, after observing and experiencing the relentless police harassment and mainstream media victimization of his new hometown, Phil felt it was time to let the town tell their story in their own words. ‘Exposing The War On Drugs’ is an eight part radio documentary series that looks at how the war on drugs has affected Australia and the rest of the world. Broadcast around Australia on the Community Radio Network, from the 18th April and podcast at https://player.whooshkaa.com/shows/exposing-the-war-on-drugs . With the spotlight on Nimbin, Australia’s most famous “alternative” town, the team from NIM FM, (Nimbin’s local community radio station), explore drug prohibition, medicinal cannabis, addiction and Nimbin itself; and offer some solutions to the costly drug war that has raged since the early 1930s.

Entheogenesis Australis (EGA) would like to thank the psychedelic community for it’s ongoing support and attendance at our recent Psychedelic Symposium. Since the event we’ve had a lot of inquiries about obtaining copies of the new EGA Journal 4 and other special merchandise. To browse, please feel free to head to the EGA Shop online or click on the items below. This is also your chance to pick up classic and new T-shirt designs. Please keep in mind much of the stock is very limited so don’t delay!

Thanks to Disco Sista for documenting the many medican workshops that the Embassy has hosted in Nimbin over the past 3 years. If you’ve missed these amazing gatherings, then you can still watch the speakers online.